What is going on here!
by thelsina
Summary: Elrohir and Elladan fall into modern day. They meet Becka Starr, the girl who lives in the apartment they land into. Chaos with pepper spray and the police ensue. This is my take on what might happen if elves REALLY did fall into modern day. not a MarySue
1. What is going on here?

**Becka's POV**

Becka Starr was pissed. This happened often enough, however on this night she had a reason to be pissed. She had been late to class again, forgotten her homework, been yelled at by no less than three people and to top it off had fallen down the stairs of her apartment with the bruises to prove it.

"Damn it!" Becka shouted to everyone and no one in particular as she struggled to open the door to her apartment. "If I didn't have enough problems the f door won't open again!" This led to a renewed effort to get into the apartment. The door finally allowed itself to be opened but only after another five minutes of struggling and some rather fantastic cursing. "About time" Becka grumbled to herself as she went inside. She then proceeded to throw her backpack; purse and shoes on the floor, while she was doing this, Becka began thinking about a late dinner. The choice came down to Chinese or Mexican. Becka did not believe in cooking. However she had the numbers to all the decent restaurants, and fast food joints that delivered in the greater Los Angeles area. Deciding that the Chinese would arrive the fastest she proceeded with the ritual of ordering and arguing with the poor fool who answered the phone. The food arrived, two minutes after the thirty-minute deadline. "Free food tonight" Becka thought to herself. The deliveryman took one look at Becka's bad attitude and quickly agreed that he had been indeed late.

After finishing her late dinner plus some homework Becka was more than ready for bed. However, the flat that she lived in was so messy at that moment that Becka was sure it would give her nightmares if she did not clean it up a bit first. Becka examined her living space. Considering her financial capabilities, it was tiny. Being a college student meant a tiny living space. The two seemed to go hand in hand. Grumbling about this unfortunate fact of life Becka began to pick up. Fortunately with a tiny flat there was only so much mess that could be made.

Once she had finished cleaning up Becka looked around somewhat satisfied. (For some reason, cleaning of all things always seemed to put her in a better mood) Her entire living space consisted of one room. There was a small refrigerator, plus a hotplate (rarely used) and a tiny counter. Her "bed" was a shelf up on a wall that could only be reached by a small ladder built into the wall. The flats' furniture consisted of orange crates and beanbag chairs. The crates had been stacked up to make shelves and more crates were in the center of the room with some plywood over the top creating a sort of low table.

Deciding that the room now looked half way presentable, Becka went to the bathroom (down the hall) and began her nightly ritual of tooth brushing, showering and swearing at the unlucky man who had deemed it necessary to come into the unofficial ladies room.

Back in her flat Becka stayed awake long enough to trip over the "table" turn off the lights and climb into bed. Unfortunately for Becka tonight would not result in a pleasant nights sleep.

**Elrohir's POV**

Elrohir slowly crept through the bushes. To his left he caught a glimpse of his twin moving into a position ahead of their target. Elrohir kept a wary ear out for Elladan in hopes that his sharp-eyed brother would spot something important on the path ahead.

Both twins had been following this particular group of orcs for nearly a month now, carefully taking note of the path that the orcs followed hoping that they would eventually be led back to the creatures' stronghold. This particular group of orcs had been acting very strangely. Their behavior and actions had been to well planned and concise and overall unorc like. The orcs had passed by no less than three small elven villages outside of Imladris without once stopping to raid and plunder; (Much to the relief of the brothers). Both Elrohir and Elladan needed answers to this strange behavior. At times the orcs had wandered dangerously close to Imladris but had never strayed into its' fair borders.

Elrohir heard the call of a sparrow. Proceeding forward (and giving the orc band a wide berth), Elrohir went to where his brother had signaled him.

"What have you found?" He inquired as he approached Elladan.

"There is a small ruin up ahead, of the likes I have never seen!" answered Elladan.

"It lies directly on the path that the orcs are following" continued Elladan.

"How soon can we reach this place?" replied Elrohir after some thought.

"Not long Ro, however our smelly companions will be their long before us if we continue to stand around in deep discussion!" exclaimed Elladan

"My dear brother, please forgive my sense of caution for attempting to keep your sorry hide out of trouble this one time!" retorted Elrohir

"If it seems that I lack caution Elrohir, it would be that you have simply inherited more than your fair share!" Elladan responded.

With these parting words Elladan climbed stealthily into the trees and with a small sigh Elrohir followed.

As Elladan had promised it was not far to the ruins that he had discovered. Both brothers took a bit of time exploring the remains of what looked like a small, but ancient fortress. Taking to the trees for safety at the distant sound of orc footsteps they carefully positioned themselves so that they could better see and hear the approaching orcs.

When the orcs did finally enter the clearing where the ruins lay the orcs began screaming and hooting in celebration. It seemed that the orcs had arrived at their destination however during the twins' brief search of the fortress, there had been no signs of orcs. It was quickly becoming apparent that the orcs were not returning to a stronghold dangerously close to Imladris but had instead found a place that they had been searching for!

The orcs swiftly formed themselves into a semblance of order; setting up camp near the ruins and breaking into smaller groups to search the ruins. As the orcs began a thorough search of the ruins, Elladan and Elrohir wondered what the orcs sought that they might have missed and also hoped that they would not find it, whatever it might be.

Triumphant shouts sounded out a few hours later as a pair of orcs emerged from the ruins, one carrying an object in its arms. The orcs all swarmed to the pair eagerly. Despite the twins' best effort neither one could see the contents of the mysterious bundle. The orcs, apparently certain that they had found the item that they had sought celebrated long into the night. Breaking out stores of wine, it was not so very long before they were all dancing around in a drunken stupor. At some point one of the orcs apparently kicked or tripped over the bundle, (neither brother could quite see through the crowded gathering of orcs), which was in the center of the camp. The sounds of merrymaking from the camp quickly turned to shouts of rage and terror. The bundle was thrown out of the camp in the direction of the tree that Elrohir and Elladan sat in. The orcs began running in the opposite direction as quickly as possible.

Elladan began to descend from the tree to inspect the bundle despite his brothers shouted warnings for caution. The item, freed from its wrappings was glowing and emitting the strangest noises. It was also apparent that the item was a palantir. Elladan moved closer to the palantir; Natural curiosity taking over his better judgment. Elrohir swiftly descended from his perch, again shouting for his brother to move away from the obviously dangerous artifact. As Elladan moved closer to cover the palantir with his cloak it began to vibrate, then without warning it exploded. There was light and heat as the twins felt themselves thrown off their feet then quite suddenly there was darkness.


	2. First Impressions

Authors Note: Thanks for the reviews, they really mean a lot! Before I forget, the disclaimer…I don't own Tolkeins creations and I doubt I ever will. sighs I only own Becka, and maybe some more later…I wonder though, if I did own Tolkeins' masterpieces/characters would it still be called fan fiction?

Chapter 2 First Impressions are not necessarily good impressions…

Elrohir's POV

Elrohir and Elladan landed in a noisy heap on a wooden floor. Which was quite odd since they had been in a forest only moments earlier. Struggling to untangle himself from his twin, Elrohir attempted to look around at his new surroundings.

"Elladan get off my foot!" he whispered vehemently.

"I'm not on your foot, your on my hair!" retorted Elladan

After a few moments of swift arguments the twins managed to separate themselves and were able to examine the room they were in. It was sparsely furnished, with wooden boxes of some sort. Books were stacked everywhere, and there were some metallic looking, oblong boxes near a table that had been built into the wall. The room seemed deserted until Elladan looked up and noticed a strange shelf near the ceiling of the room. There was a sleeping figure on the shelf. As Elladan approached the figure moved slightly as if sensing his presence.

Swiftly, both elves drew their daggers.

Becka's POV 

Becka awoke to a loud thumping. Her first instinct was to see what had caused the noise (No doubt the neighbors upstairs). Deciding that she was too tired to deal with Mrs. Upstairs' problems, she had nearly fallen back asleep when she heard a sharp whisper.

"Elladan get off my foot!" the stranger IN her room said.

She lay very still while she listened to the reply, and began to do some VERY fast thinking. "My mom told me to stay away from the city" was one thought. As well as "Now what am I going to do?" being another. Becka suddenly remembered the item that her friend had given her when she moved in. It might help. But then came the problem of where the thing was. "I know I wanted to keep it safe and away from my cousins…" Then she remembered where it was hidden. She would have slapped her forehead if she hadn't been feigning sleep. Slowly she reached under pillow and just as her hands were closing around the vial, one of the intruders spoke to her.

"Reveal your identity and explain who dares to abduct one of the eldar! Speak quickly!" said the strange voice.

Too angry at this little revelation to continue her "sleeping" act, Becka jumped out of her bed and dropped to the floor.

"I hate to point it out bud, but you're the one who has broken into my flat!" Becka yelled to the one she thought might have been called Ellodir, startling the intruder. She brandished her vial in front of her and waited for a reaction.

Becka used the opportunity to stare at these would-be burglars while they tried to say something coherent. They were males, both of them. They were both wearing strange clothing that looked like something out of a renaissance fair. And though it was dim in the room, they looked identical…possibly twins. What worried her though was that BOTH of them had some very sharp looking knives in their hands and neither one looked intimidated by the vial she had pointed their way.

After no answer was swiftly apparent (at least in her mind) she shouted, "Well! What are you doing in my flat! I don't have anything worth stealing, so get out before I call the cops!"

"We are not common thieves milady!" was the indignant retort from one of the intruders. Elliodain she thought he might have been called?

"If you are not COMMON thieves then what kind of thieves are you! Your not those creepy stalkers that have been haunting the dorms are you?" Shouted Becka. "Just drop your weapons and get out of here!" she continued. Inwardly she was starting to feel more than a little nervous. She had forgotten all about the dorm incidents until she started shouting them out loud.

"An elven warrior never surrenders his weapons!" came the reply. Becka thought it was the same one who had spoken to her the first time.

"Release us from this treacherous spell witch, and surrender the palantir and we shall happily go about our way!" said the other one.

"I am no witch!" screamed Becka. "And what in the name of all that is good is a planterri! Not to mention WHO are you!"" she continued.

"My name is Elladan and this is Elrohir" said the man on her left. "I would ask your name witch, out of politeness, but it seems that manners are beyond your understanding" he continued.

"For the last time I am NOT a witch! My name is Becka since you so KINDLY asked, and you are the one who doesn't have any manners! After all, YOU'RE the ones who have snuck into MY apartment!" Becka shouted at the top of her voice.

Once again the intruders seemed slightly surprised. They began talking to themselves in a language that Becka couldn't understand. Apparently they came to a conclusion quickly. They sheathed their weapons (much to Becka's relief) and for a moment looked as if they would walk out of the apartment. But swiftly, more quickly than Becka could comprehend they changed directions; Her direction to be precise. She felt strong arms grabbing her shoulders and quite suddenly she found herself looking into the face of one of her attackers (Elrohir she guessed) while the other held her arms tightly behind her back. (Elladan?). She managed to hold onto her vial.

"I will ask again milady" said Elrohir in a deadly serious tone of voice, "Where is the palantir, and why have you brought us here!"

Becka had had enough. Her home had been broken into and now she was being accused of being a thief and a witch! These guys were obviously unstable, and they had her! Thinking quickly was difficult when the panicking part of her mind continued to think of all the bad things that happened to women in the cities.

She slumped against her captor, as if feigning defeat. Elladan's grip loosened slightly to compensate, and it was all the opening she needed. She kicked behind her. She was glad to hear a grunt of pain as her foot connected with his groin. Becka pulled her hands free, and brought up the vial to Elrohir's face and pressed the button.

The pepper spray hit him squarely in the eyes. His yelp was more than satisfying. Needing no further encouragement she ran for the door, throwing it open and dashing into the hall; directly into the arms of a cop.

"There are some freaks in my apartment!" she shouted.

The cops needed no more encouragement and ran into the apartment and swiftly disarmed and restrained the two men. They were swiftly led away, one shouting something about being blinded, while Becka's nerves caught up to her. She started trembling, and was surprised when a firm hand took her arm and led her into her flat and nudged her into a chair.

"Are you all right?" a kind voice asked.

Becka looked up to see Owen Hunter, one of the neighbors on the floor below hers.

"I heard yelling and called the police." Owen said

"I'm fine thanks" was Becka's reply

Owen nodded and left after he had been thouroughly convinced that Becka was unharmed. However, instead of the peace and quiet she craved, Becka found herself going to the police station to give a statement and formally identify her attackers. Needless to say, it was a long time before Becka was finally able to get some sleep.


	3. Jailbirds

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I deeply appreciate it. For the record, I own none of Tolkeins' characters.

Chapter 3 Jailbirds 

**Elrohir's POV**

When the strange female, Becka ran from the room, neither twin attempted to follow. From what Elrohir could make out, Elladan was curled up on the ground doing a fair imitation of a shrimp. Apparently the female had had some training as a warrior. The situation was far from humorous though. The vile liquid that had been thrown in his face BURNED! Elrohir was barely able to see, his eyes watered profusely. It was difficult to breathe since the abominable potion had gotten into his nose and mouth setting his lungs on fire!

As Elrohir struggled for a bit of composure a pair of humans entered the room.

"Drop your weapons and put your hands on your head!" one shouted.

Elladan pointed out that both of the brothers' weapons were sheathed and that an elven warrior never surrendered his weapons. The newcomers pulled Elladan to his feet despite his protests and shackled his hands behind his back. They restrained Elrohir in a similar manner.

"Please have mercy!" Elrohir exclaimed. "My eyes greatly pain me! I am blind!" he continued as the strangers attempted to lead him from the room.

One of the newcomers said something about him not being blind and that they would rinse out his eyes soon. Thus contented, Elrohir allowed himself to be led away for the time being.

Elladan's POV 

Elladan was led in front of his brother out of the room. He was in a certain amount of pain but it was quickly driven out of his mind by the strange sights around him. He was led down a lighted hallway. What was strange was that there were no torches or windows! The source of light seemed to come from the tiled ceiling itself!

Next they were led into a tiny room whose door had no handle. Yet the door opened as if on command. Once in this tiny box of a room the door closed again! Surely by the same magic that had caused it to open in the first place. Elladan was truly confused when the SAME door opened a few minutes later revealing a DIFFERENT corridor than the one they had been in! At the end of the corridor was yet another sight to marvel at! Double doors of the clearest glass! Elladan paused for a moment to see if these doors would open magically as the last ones had, but the man that held his arm gave him a sharp tug and pushed open the door using a small, silver handle that Elladan had not noticed before.

He was led outside, much to his relief. The air seemed somewhat fresher, and full of life than the air inside. Elladan could almost close his eyes and imagine he was in Rivendell. But to close his eyes would have made it impossible for him to examine the strange sights around him!

What immediately caught Elladan's attention was the noise. And what a racquet it was! There were rushing sounds, whistles, screams (from what he could not guess), and thousands more sounds he could not begin to comprehend. Looking around, Elladan could scarcely have been more dumbfounded. The building he had been in and the buildings surrounding him were taller than the tallest trees in Arda! The stone walk under his feet looked like one endless slab of stone with giant torches thrust in it for light. These torches were taller than him, and like the lights inside, did not seem to use fire to create the light! There was a road of sorts, (at least Elladan guessed it was a road) which had the strangest contraptions MOVING atop it! They were vaguely box-like in shape and seemed to come in different sizes and colors! They moved no doubt by some sort of dark magic! Elladan could not think of any other logical reason to explain this phenomenon.

Elladan realized that he had stopped moving when he received another sharp tug on his arm. After that he allowed himself to be led obediently while he silently marveled at the strange sights around him.

Elladan came to an abrupt halt when he realized that he was being led towards one of the demonic road boxes! This one wasn't moving but he wanted no part of the foreign devilry!

"Keep moving scum bag!" said Elladan's captor.

"I will not submit myself to bear this dark magic!" cried Elladan.

"The two guards looked confused. Finally the one holding Elrohir asked "What magic?"

"The unholy monstrosity standing before us!" exclaimed Elladan

This brought more blank looks from the guards. Finally one asked "The car?" They exchanged looks and muttered something about insanity.

'What is going on Elladan?' Questioned Elrohir in elvish. The first words he had spoken since he had claimed to be blind.

'These humans seem to wish to feed us to some sort of mechanical monstrosity!' replied Elladan in elvish. 'These things move swiftly about the road in front of us at speeds you have to see to believe and make roaring noises a dragon might envy! At first I thought they were fueled by dark magic but now I fear that they are powered by the souls of innocents!' Continued Elladan

After a moments thought Elrohir replied darkly 'Truly we have arrived in a cursed place.'

"None of this foreign gibberish!" said one of the almost forgotten guards. "Enough of this foolishness! Get in the twice damned car already!" he continued.

'Elladan, an elven warrior must accept his death if it comes. We seem to be out of options with our hands bound and this cursed potion blinding my eyes, now is the time for courage and stoicism brother' said Elrohir in a tone that did not quite hide his fear from his younger twin.

With these parting words, Elrohir allowed himself to be maneuvered into the car. His face remained calm and he did not cry out, as a proper elven warrior expecting death should.

Elladan was only slightly comforted when he heard no noises from his brother. Either Elrohir was unharmed or had gone quietly to his death. Then it was Elladan's turn to get into the car through the door he had seen his brother enter. He ducked his head and sat down as directed, expecting razor sharp teeth, poisonous barbs, or something equally pleasant to tear into him. Instead, he was sitting in an almost comfortable seat next to his brother. The door next to him closed noisily and their captors moved until they were sitting in front of the twins separated by a metal grate of some sort. One guard twisted a wheel and the car began to move!

Inwardly Elladan berated himself. He had been frightened almost to the point of fainting by what had turned out t be some sort of fancy cart! He also cringed mentally about how he had scared his brother and the teasing he would almost certainly receive.

Those thoughts were quickly driven from his mind as the sights around him once again amazed him. The glass in the cars' doors had on the outside been dark and imposing, like giant, lidded eyes. Inside the car they were amazingly clear. The car moved faster than the swiftest horse. Elladan wondered if the car might go so fast that it might simply leave the earth and fly through the sky like some sort of mechanical bird! During this most recent contemplation, Elladan glanced at the sky and immediately wished he hadn't. Even with his keen elven vision he could barely see the stars. The giant torches on the sides of the street blocked out the lights of the stars and the roaring around him muted their song.

It was distressing to see the stars dimmed. As he watched the buildings, torches, and other cars swiftly moving around him, Elladan fervently wished that he had fled from the palantir when he had the chance!

**Elrohir POV:**

Elrohir had been more than a little nervous when he had allowed his captors to put him inside the car-demon. To his utmost relief, his twins' fears had been unfounded and the car had thus far proved to be harmless. Elrohir could barely see his surroundings but assumed that the car must appear very ferocious to have shaken his normally bold brother as much as it had. Elrohir was unable to accurately measure time in his current state, although he guessed that close to an hour had passed when the car-demon stopped moving.

The twins were both relieved to have escaped the cars' clutches. Elrohir sensed that they had been led into a building when the air around him grew cooler. The sounds his captors' feet made as they moved along changed in tone too. A sure sign that the ground they walked upon had changed. Elrohir heard his brothers' shouts as he was led down the hall AWAY from his brother!

"Where are you taking me!" exclaimed Elrohir. "And why do you separate me from my brother!" he continued.

"You are going to have your eyes seen too, and your brother is going in for questioning. You'll be joining him soon enough." Said the guard who held his arm.

Elrohir did not think that "questioning" could possibly be a good thing but the idea of having the foul potion cleaned from his eyes was a pleasant thought. Once again, Elrohir found himself with no reasonable alternatives at hand as he was led away from his brother.

The lady that cleaned the potion from Elrohir's eyes was far from gentle. He could only assume that she was a healer although she had the roughest hands of any healer he had ever encountered. It was also to Elrohir's great annoyance that the manacles on his hand were not removed during the tedious, and somewhat painful process. The lady had basically held Elrohir's face in place while she had squirted water in his eyes. It took over an hour to clear away the despicable potion, and by the end Elrohir was positive that the healing lady was simply spraying water in his face for the sheer torture of it. Nonetheless, he did not complain and his eyes DID feel better at the end. His vision was still a bit blurry but it was a vast improvement from seeing nothing at all. He was assured that his vision would be back to normal soon. Then he was led away for his "questioning."

Elrohir was led into a plain room. It only had a table and two chairs. Thankfully, his manacles were removed and he was able to sit down. A pair of guards stood by the door. One thing NOT in evidence was any sign of Elladan. Apart from the guards, the only other person in the room was a man; he was dressed differently from the guards and introduced himself as "Officer Rios".

"Where is my brother Officer Rios?" asked Elladan

"He is in the room next door." Replied Officer Rios, "no doubt telling the officer with him all about your little crime spree. In the mean time do you understand your Miranda rights as they were explained to you at the crime scene? And do you wish to give me your version of events?" He continued.

Elrohir was at a loss for words. He HAD remembered that the officers had said some things to him. He HADN'T understood what it all meant though. Things about "lawyers" and "Right to silence" not to mention something about a "court of law." He also was curious as to what Officer Rios expected Elladan to be telling the other Officer. Or what a "spree" was. It was all quite confusing, to the best of Elrohir's knowledge, neither he nor Elladan had done anything illegal. However, things were VERY different in this strange land, so perhaps they had, but hadn't realized their error. Elrohir decided that telling his "version of events" was probably the best way to clear up the misunderstandings, and hopefully be released from wherever it was that he was currently being held.

Elrohir told the truth to Officer Rios. He gave his name and station as a Lord of Rivendell. He carefully explained about Rivendell and the peaceful ways of the elves that dwelt there. Elrohir told of how he and his brother had been following the orc party and how the palantir had been discovered. He also described to the best of his ability, how they had come into this strange land of false lights and mechanical wonders. Elrohir did admit that they might have been a bit abrupt to the human female Becka, but carefully explained his belief that Becka might have summoned them somehow. He admitted his confusion as to why he was being held and what crimes he had supposedly committed. Elrohir also spent some time asking what lawyers were, and cars, not to mention, "scum bag". Elrohir was curious if "scum bag" was the natives' word for "elf". As he told his story, Officer Rios looked first annoyed, then angry and by the end he was simply dumbfounded. After a long silence he finally spoke.

"Alright, Mister, um…Elrohir. I am going to be booking you for assault and breaking and entering. You are going to stay here for the night. Don't worry, their will be some nice people who are going to talk to you about, uh, this Rivendell, tomorrow. They will try and work something out for you." Said Officer Rios. Under his breather he muttered, "whack job" in a tone of voice that he obviously hadn't meant for Elrohir to hear.

"Do you have any other questions?" he asked.

"Just one" said Elrohir

"What is a whack job?" he questioned.

Instead of answering this supposedly simple question, Officer Rios got very red in the face, and called for the guard. Elrohir was shackled again and led down a hallway to a place the guard called a "booking room". Elrohir was quite curious, but upon entering did not see a single book in the room. These humans certainly had strange names for places! The men working in the room began asking him all sorts of strange questions. Things about his age, his birth date, where he was born, and something called a "social security number." None of his answers seemed to satisfy them. Finally they said something about just getting his "prints" and worrying about a "mug shot" the next morning. The also said that they would run him through "missing persons." All of this was thoroughly confusing. After all, how could you run through a person, especially if they were missing?

Since none of the conversation had been directed towards him, Elrohir held his silence for the moment. He was then led over to a strange box-like contraption sitting on a table. The guard released his hands from the shackles and proceeded to direct Elrohir's hands, telling him where to place his fingers. Then he was told to keep his hands where they were. Another human sat at the table that the box thing was on and was pushing buttons on ANOTHER box object on the opposite end of the table. The seated man, looked at some sort of square that Elrohir couldn't see. He than said that he had a "bad read" and the guard told Elrohir he could move his hands. The seated man proceeded to clean the box-thing while Elrohir was led to a small, very strange fountain and told to wash his hands. Then he was led to the box-thing again and the process began again. The result was the same; the man at the table couldn't get a "good read."

The man seated at the table finally spoke to the guard "Bill, I don't know what's wrong with the computer. I know that Diaz will have my hide, but I think I'm going to have to do this the old-fashioned way. I'll scan in the prints later."

"Have fun with Diaz Alan, I don't envy you. Better dig up the ink then"

The man (Alan) then proceeded to get some paper and what looked like ink that had been soaked into a cloth tablet. To add to the strangeness, the ink was then applied to Elrohir's fingertips and then placed upon the paper, leaving finger smudges. Elrohir was at a loss as to why. Alan than proceeded to look at the finger smudges with a looking glass of some sort. The shocked expression on his face was amusing to see.

"Bill, take a look at this, I don't think it's the machine after all" said Alan, his voice incredulous.

The guard called Bill, proceeded to look at the finger smudges, and the guard looked just as amazed as Alan. Elrohir could not figure out why.

"What is it that you expected to see?" asked Elrohir. He couldn't help it; the curiosity was overwhelming.

"I was expecting to see your finger prints." Said Alan.

"But isn't that what you have? The smudges made by my fingers from the ink?" asked Elrohir, more confused now than ever.

"Do you know what a fingerprint is!" asked Alan in an angry tone of voice.

"No, I do not." replied Elrohir honestly.

The man, Alan then began to describe fingerprints. He told Elrohir that every print was individual to its owner, they were there at the moment of a persons' birth and the same design stayed on a man or woman's fingertips for his or her entire life. By looking at the finger- prints a person had left behind, it could be determined where a person had been and what things they had touched. "But you don't have any!" finished Alan. "I didn't think such a thing was possible!" he continued.

"Could it be that I do not posses any of these prints since I am an elf, and not a mortal man?" asked Elrohir

Alan looked as if he wanted to explode into a rage. Finally he told Bill that he put a note into the "doc's invoice" about how Elrohir didn't have any prints. Alan also made it clear that he wanted nothing more to do with Elrohir at that time.

Bill shackled Elrohir again (after allowing him to clean his hands) and explained that Elrohir would be staying in a holding cell with his brother until the doctor came to see him in the morning. Elrohir was curious as to what a "doctor" was but decided that silence would reunite him with Elladan more quickly. He did not mind being led down a maze of halls if it would lead him to his brother. As much as Elrohir hated to admit it, he was scared and wanted his brother by his side. Things always were better when his twin was around to help him get in and out of trouble.

The holding cell was small. It barely held two small beds and some sort of water basin. But Elladan was already inside this strange prison, so Elrohir was not going to complain about the size. When Elrohir had been unshackled and the guard had left. Elladan promptly began asking him questions.

"Are your eyes better? Did they try to look at some of those fingerprints we are supposed to have? Do you think they believed us?" were a few of his questions.

Elrohir described his experiences to Elladan, and in turn Elladan filled him in on all the things that had transpired since they had been separated. Elladan explained that he had been questioned. The Officer had wanted Elladan to confess about a series of "dorm" robberies. This officer had been very annoyed when Elladan had asked what a "dorm" was. Elladan had told him, to the best of his knowledge how they had arrived in this strange land. The officer had accused Elladan, of being insane, or a liar. Elladan had protested quite vehemently to both accusations, but nobody had believed him. He too had been finger printed, and the woman who had done that had been quite fascinated that he did not posses these mysterious fingerprints. Elladan had been in the small cell for close to an hour before Elrohir had been brought in.

Both brothers were silent for a while, each in their own thoughts about what happened to them. Finally Elrohir broke the silence.

"It would seem to me brother, that we need to think of a way to escape this dreadful land. It seems unlikely that these men will believe us, since they seem truly convinced that we are insane." He said.

"That would seem obvious Elrohir, but how are we supposed to get out of here? These bars are solid and I have never seen a lock such as this before." Replied Elladan while he pointed to the lock that sealed the cell's door.

"Thank you for pointing that out Elladan. But an idea might be more useful at the moment." Elrohir grumbled.

After a few minutes contemplation Elladan suddenly exclaimed "The bird!"

"The bird?" asked Elrohir.

"Brother, do you remember when we found that mother jay?" questioned Elladan.

Elrohir nodded "She feigned injury, to draw us away from her nest. She feared that we were predators. Then you approached her, thinking she truly was injured only to have her fly away." Replied Elrohir with a laugh at that particular memory as he remembered the expression on his twin's face.

"Exactly" said Elladan.

"These men might think us insane, but they don't seem to be heartless. They tended your eyes and probably would tend us if they thought one of us injured." Continued Elladan.

"Now the question is, what injury should we feign, and who should do the feigning." Replied Elrohir with a grin. 

Elrohir and Elladan began hatching their escape plan in earnest. They were careful to speak in Elvish lest a guard should attempt to overhear. There plans set, both twins rested for an hour or so, they would need their strength soon.

Elrohir's' shouts brought guards running to the small cell early that morning. It was dawn. As the guards approached they saw the other twin sprawled on the floor, clutching his chest. His face seemed pale and he struggled for breath. The guards, fearing some sort of heart attack opened the cell door, to lend aid while they shouted for another guard to call an "ambulance". No sooner had the guard opened the door than Elladan jumped up and kicked the guard in the groin as hard as he could. Elrohir, who had been standing near the door, jumped through and swiftly knocked out the other guard with a punch to the man's temple. Both twins rushed out of the room and into the hall, desperately looking for some way out.

Shouts in the hall alerted guards to their presence. The twins knew they would be short on time as they ran through a labyrinth of corridors searching for some exit. ANY exit! While they did not find an exit one of the doors did lead into a supply room. There was a guard in this room. It was easy to compel him to return the twins' missing belongings, the main ones being their packs, daggers, bows and swords. With the guard taking an assisted nap, the twins were out the door, searching for the elusive exit. Calls rang down the halls, as guards scoured the halls looking for the missing prisoners. No matter how many twists and turns the twins took, it seemed that someone was reporting their movements to the guards, for no sooner did they seem to lose them than they did reappear! They encountered a flight of stairs, and for lack of a better option took them as far up as possible. The stairs seemed to end at a small corridor. At it's end was a door labeled "Roof Access No Unauthorized Personal Beyond This Point" Predictably the door was locked. However, the makers of that particular door had never imagined the prowess and determination of two very upset Elf Lords. The door was quickly broken down. The twins took a moment to savor the feeling of being out under the sun again. Then they began leaping from rooftop to rooftop, until their foul prison had vanished from their keen elven sight.

After that it was a matter of finding a roof with an unlocked door. Elrohir and Elladan descended a flight of stairs in a building that seemed to be some sort of residential house. It was similar to the first building they had been in. It had been called an apartment Elrohir recollected. Once out on the street they began attracting many strange stares, no doubt because of their clothes and weapons.

"Elladan, we will not be able to avoid capture for long if we cannot find some way to blend in." said Elrohir

"Keep your eyes open for a textiles merchant, perhaps we can find some ready-made clothes that might suit us." Elrohir continued.

As if in response, to Elrohir's words, they came across a store selling ready-made garments. However, when the merchant saw their coins, they were promptly told to leave.

"We don't take funny-money! Get out of here before I call the cops!" exclaimed the merchant.

It was the same story at another shop the twins' tried. There coins were simply different than the currency that was used in this hostile land. Both twins were at a loss over what to do. They found an empty alley to eat some of the stores that they had carried with them. Then they stripped down to their shirts and breeches. Their clothes were still different although at least not as badly as when they had on their tunics and cloaks as well. They hid their weapons as best they could, so that when they stepped back on to the street, the strange looks they received were somewhat lessened. As they continued to wander around the strange land that they had found themselves in, they came across a building that had a sign that said "charity day" on it.

On Elladan's insistence they entered the building. A smiling lady listened to their plight about not having the proper currency for clothes that would help them to blend in. She listened sympathetically, and then shuffled off to a back room to "see what she could do for the poor lads." From where the twins were standing they were able to overhear her conversation with a man in the other room. She told the unknown man about the homeless lads who were in the front. They seemed nice enough, but a bit off in the head. She returned a few minutes later with some trousers and shirts. She pointed them to a room where they could change. The trousers fit well enough but the shirts were a bit big. Still, they were decently covered in clothes that would let them fit into this strange land. The twins profusely thanked the lady and offered a gold coin as payment. She waved it away explaining that this was the "church's" charity day, and they were giving out food and clothes to people like themselves. Elrohir assumed she meant homeless and possibly insane, when she said, "people like them." Still, Elrohir was not about to refuse help even, so again he thanked the lady and the twins were on their way.

'We might be considered insane, but at least we can fit in better.' Elrohir told his brother in the Elven tongue.

'What do you mean "we" might be insane' replied Elladan 'I have been well aware of your lack of sanity for quite some time brother' continued Elladan.

Elrohir could not help but laugh as the two of them set out to explore this new land, and began searching for a way home.


	4. Revelations

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Sorry about the slow update, writers block showed it's ugly face on my doorstep. I convinced him to go away but I'm just going to write as much as possible in case he shows up again!

Chapter 4: Strange World

**Elrohir's POV:**

Elrohir stood on the tree branch and stretched his legs, as he watched the sun begin her slow rise over the horizon. He found it comforting that some things were the same in this strange land. It had been 5 days since the brothers' escape from the city guard and both were still at a loss for what to do. The twins had found the location of their current camp by pure luck. The discovery of this small wood had been miraculous. Both brothers had been sure that nothing green grew in this cursed place. Still the location, while most like their home, was far from ideal. Men and the city guards were around the place (Elrohir had overheard one group call the woods a "park") during most of the day and night. The brothers had ended up setting up camp in the branches of a tree well out of sight of prying eyes.

However, it was the trees that disturbed Elrohir the most in the wood. They were silent and still. Try as he might he could not attune himself to the tree. He could not get any idea of the trees emotions, if any. Always the trees had heeded the Eldar's call, helping him learn the ways of balance and nature. These trees stayed as silent as stone, their voices muted or non-existent. It greatly saddened Elrohir that so little magic existed in this place that a humble trees voice could be stilled.

With a sigh Elrohir once again took a seat on the branch he stood upon and let his back rest against the trees silent trunk. He looked down at the branch below his and inwardly laughed at the sight of his sleeping brother. Elladan was stretched out on the branch with both his arms and legs dangling freely, looking for all the world like a slumbering cat. Without meaning to Elrohir let out a small chuckle, waking his slumbering twin.

Blue eyes focused on Elrohir's, the petulant look Elladan shot his twin sent Elrohir into a fit of laughter. He could not help it; his brother now resembled a very cross cat.

"Forgive me for interrupting your sleep Dan." Said Elrohir "but I feared your snores might alert even the deafest human to our location!" he continued.

The look Elladan now focused on him was murderous.

"Leave me in peace to attract the human's then." Retorted Elladan. "For surely they would flee in the opposite direction once they chanced to see your foul face!" he finished.

Elrohir was tempted to comment on how their faces were identical but thought better of it. There was simply no reasoning with his twin in the morning; Elladan was ALWAYS somewhat grumpy.

"Nevertheless dear brother, it is time to be moving again. I think I have an idea on how to return home." Said Elrohir.

"And what would this grand plan be?" questioned Elladan, his crankiness forgotten.

"A map" replied Elrohir.

"A map? How will a map help us." Questioned Elladan.

"I think that this world must be ours." Said Elrohir. "The power of the palantirs' has always been to examine the surroundings of the world they were created in. Unless the witch has manipulated one to the point where it has found anchor in a world different then ours, then there should be SOME record of our home somewhere." Continued Elrohir.

"It is true the palantir are not accounted for." Said Elladan. "But you think one was used to bring us all the way here? Wherever here is." He said.

"I can think of no other reason. Besides there are so many lands different then our own…perhaps we are in the far south. The harad have always been mechanically minded and it certainly seems hot enough." Said Elrohir.

"You have a point brother, but I still wonder WHY the witch would summon us here. It certainly took a great deal of energy to do so…perhaps she meant to summon the orc band." Said Elladan. "Nevertheless I fear explanations will be long time in coming without the witch to offer an explanation." Continued Elladan.

"Very well brother, let us see what passes for a hall of records in these barbaric lands." Said Elladan.

The twins' ate a quick meal of dried fruit from their stores. There camp was broken down and packed up in less then an hour and the brothers set off back into the forest of buildings looking for a records hall, library, or whatever the equivalent might be called. Elrohir gathered his courage and asked passersby on where such a place might be found. Eventually the twins found themselves directed towards a large shop. A sign overhead said "Borders" which seemed appropriate in Elrohir's mind considering that they intended to leave this place and it's borders far behind as quickly as possible.

Elrohir and Elladan entered the shop cautiously. After their previous experiences both brothers were trepidous about setting toe in the "Borders". Upon entering the shop both brother's were relieved that their presence brought no more than passing glances. Nervously, Elrohir checked his hair to make sure his ears were fully covered. The twins had decided early on that it would be easier to pass as human since the guard had made it apparent that they knew nothing of elven-kind.

The shop Elrohir stood in was truly incredible. Not even the great city of Gondor had a library to match the size or the "borders". Its size even rivaled some elven records' halls! And the fact that this was a shop and not a library was truly mind boggling. And the books; the parchment was of a fine quality he had never before seen. It was white, incredibly so, and surely the product of thousands of master scribes. The writing was written flawlessly, the text perfectly spaced and there was no discrepancy in letter size and shape! It was as if some loving scholar had painstakingly stamped every letter in place, so perfect they were. After both brothers had stopped to properly admire the books they sought the maps that might lead them back home.

They found maps in a section of the shop called "geography", more in a place labeled "travel"; According to plaques on the wall. It was to their great dismay that nothing on the maps looked familiar! The shape of the land was different. The maps showed vast lands and even vaster oceans. They spent hours going over those books and maps. They read about how they ought to go to visit "Europe" and "Spain" as well as many other places. Out of desperation they went into a part of the shop called "history". There they found a few maps. But once again they depicted lands vastly different than anything they recognized! The books of history described the history of men but they failed to mention elves, dwarves, or any other intelligent race. There was no mention of the great kingdoms of men the twins knew.

Elrohir realized that despite his vain hopes; he and his brother had indeed found themselves in a world different than their own! They would not be able to simply walk back home! Elrohir carefully schooled his face to impassiveness; he did not want to upset Elladan more than he no doubt was! How was Elrohir supposed to get his younger twin home safely when he had no idea where they were! Elrohir had always been protective of his siblings. After all Elrohir was the eldest and truly determined that nothing bad befell any of them, especially Elladan. Elrohir was quite surprised when his brother came up with a reasonable plan since he was the one who normally formulated the plans!

"Why don't we ask a shopkeeper to see if we overlooked something?" asked Elladan.

"Excellent suggestion" Elrohir said. "I was about to think of the same thing myself." He continued.

**Elladan's POV**

Elladan rolled his eyes at his brother's pitiful attempt to save face as he walked towards a round table with the sign "Information" on a plaque overhead. Which made perfect sense to Elladan since he was certainly seeking information. A young man sat at the desk reading a book. He was quite portly with sandy hair, light eyes and more than a smattering of freckles. He wore a name sign that said "Eric".

"Begging your pardon sir, but my brother and I seem to be having trouble finding certain documents." Said Elladan.

"Eric" didn't look up from his book. "Whatcha looking for" he grumbled.

"My brother and I seek a map showing the whole of middle earth." Said Elladan.

Eric looked up from his book. "Are you talking about seismology maps? The kind that show the different layers?" He questioned

"I don't understand what you mean about layers. The land we seek is not on any of the maps we found." Said Elrohir.

"What is a seismology?" asked Elladan.

The shopkeeper looked a bit confused.

"What is the name of the country your looking for?" said Eric after a long pause.

"It would be a great service if you could help my brother and I find a map to the misty mountains especially the areas around the Bruinen River." Said Elrohir. Both brothers were reluctant to give the exact location of Imladris to anybody in this strange land.

It was to the twins' great surprise that the shopkeeper burst out laughing. Elladan thought that the impudent merchant would surely pass out from lack of air, so loudly was he laughing.

"Your shitten me right?" said Eric in between peals of laughter "You can come out!" he exclaimed. "This is Candid Camera, right?" he continued.

"What is a "camera" and how is it "candid"?" questioned a very confused Elladan.

The shopkeeper abruptly stopped laughing. "Your serious?" he sputtered.

Both twins simply nodded. Eric looked upset.

"So, you're a pair of those psycho pre-history buffs eh? For the last time we're not publishing that sacred little red book anytime soon. Hell, your precious bit of heresy isn't even in a language us mere mortals can even read!" raged Eric.

Elladan was shocked by the shopkeeper's arduous venom. However, it did raise the slim-hope that Imladris could be found somewhere in this dark world; Although Elladan didn't have a clue as to what "pre-history" was.

"What is going on here!" exclaimed a woman's voice.

A middle-aged female wearing the same style of clothes as the shopkeeper stalked to the desk.

"What is all this yelling about!" demanded the woman.

Eric wilted under the formidable woman's stare. He hung his head trying to hide the embarrassed blush that graced his cheeks.

"Go wait in back Eric." The woman said curtly "I want a word with you privately."

Turning towards the brothers the woman smiled and said, "Hello, my name is Theresa Gonzalez and I am the head manager. I apologize for my employees' bad behavior, he will be dealt with. How may I help you?"

Elladan was slightly taken aback considering how the woman's voice could change from deadly dangerous to sweet and pleasant.

"My brother and I are looking for a map of the misty mountains milady," said Elrohir politely.

Theresa Gonzalez arched her eyebrow at Elrohir's comment.

"I'm afraid we don't have any pre-history maps," said Theresa Gonzalez.

"However, I do believe there is a pre-history lecture at the CSULB later today. Just a moment, I think I still have a flyer." With those parting words left the twins and walked through a door that said "Employees only."

Before Elladan could ponder what a C.S.U.L.B. was, and how it might fly Theresa Gonzalez returned carrying a piece of paper.

"Here we are, there is a pre-history lecture in the gym at 7pm tonight." Said Theresa Gonzalez.

Guessing that CSULB was a place, Elladan politely took the paper and asked for directions. Theresa Gonzalez left once again and returned with a "Route" map for "Long Beach Transit". She gave careful directions on which "buses" to take and what a "stop" looked like. She even gave them some coins to buy passage on the "bus." Theresa Gonzalez was very polite and seemed quite intent on helping them, so that the twins would leave her shop. Her tactics were quite successful since she had indeed managed to interest the twins in "pre-history."

**Elrohir's POV**

Elrohir was delighted on how well Elladan's plan had worked. Both twins had a destination, one that would hopefully help the brothers find their way home. Even though it meant facing the mechanical monsters, (Elrohir still wasn't completely convinced that they were safe)

He was convinced that this "pre-history" was the key to their problems.

It did not take Elrohir long to discover the "stop" that Theresa Gonzalez had described. Finding the courage to step onto the dragon-sized mechanical contraptions was a bit more difficult. The twins both remembered to ask for a "transfer" when they got off the "bus", only to walk a ways and get onto another. During the ride, both twins noticed massive signs that seemed to be promoting strange things that neither twin could guess at. Things like "McDonalds" or "Bausch and Lomb", or "Skyyla the Psychic." They "transferred" three more times and within two hours found the "CSULB". Elrohir was delighted when he discovered that the "CSULB" was in fact a human school. Both brothers spent a leisurely afternoon walking around and admiring the strange buildings that made up the school. They found what had to have been a massive library and enjoyed looking at the books within. The sight of so many books in such condition was incredible. Even more so, this library was even larger than the "Borders" had been. As the sun began to set, both brothers set out to find where the meeting would take place. After some directions from passing students the twins found themselves in front of a massive building that was shaped like a giant blue pyramid. Upon entering, the brothers found chairs set in rows all facing a small platform. The twins found a seat near the front and watched as other men, filed in and sat down as well.

Elrohir had been growing steadily more impatient (not a common elven emotion) when a man stepped onto the platform and addressed them.

"Hello and welcome to the Archaeology Clubs' "Analysis of pre-history" presentation" he said. "For those of you who don't know me I'm Professor Jameson of the Archaeology department." This brought a chuckle from the crowd though Elrohir failed to see what was so amusing.

"Alright then let's get this party started then." Said Professor Jameson.

"As you are all aware, we at the archaeology department came across an amazing discovery not to long ago. During an excavation in the country outside of Liverpool, UK a book was discovered. We can now confirm that this book is indeed the oldest ever found! This book has proven definitively the presence of an advanced civilization thousands of years before ancient civilizations in the east, which were originally thought the eldest. The book itself is in amazing condition despite its age. While at this time the language remains undecipherable, certain aspects are being unraveled as we speak." Said Professor Jameson. He walked to the end of the platform and picked up an object that Elrohir could not quite see and seemed to press a button. The lights in the room dimmed and the image of a book appeared on the wall behind Professor Jameson. Before Elrohir could begin to decipher this new bit of magic, the professor began to speak again. "Here is the cover of the book, the binding is still in amazing condition considering that radiocarbon dating or the binding material places this book at around 260 MILLION years old." Exclaimed Professor Jameson. This brought silence followed by the muttering of everyone in the room attempting to speak at once and the occasional shouts of "heresy" from someone in the back. "Silence please!" exclaimed Professor Jameson. "Let us proceed under the assumption that I am not a hack, and that I DO have evidence to support my claims," said Professor Jameson. Silence once again fell. "Thank you, and now proceeding." said Professor Jameson. "Radiocarbon dating of the books materials have helped to determine the age, as well as the fact that the wood in the binding and the composition of the ink and paper, point to several plant species that went extinct in the late Cambrian. The writing itself is in a language that has not been deciphered however the book contains several maps, and key points listed have been tentatively identified." Said Professor Jameson. As he used his wand again, the picture changed. "Here is a map from a page in the book, several points have been identified, these mountain ranges are named "Misty Mountains", and this city or landmark here is called "Immladrin" to the best of our knowledge," he continued.

As Professor continued describing the events leading up to the discovery of the book and showing images of the books contents Elrohir felt the first twinges of fear creeping up his spine. He knew this book, had seen a very old halfling WRITING it not, three months past and knew very well its contents. It was Bilbo's autobiography. A book that he called "There and Back again." Elrohir had teased him incessantly about the red leather the book had been bound in, saying that the contents should be what attracted readers to it, not it's brightly covered binding. Elrohir sat in stunned silence his mind racing. This Professor had stated the book was millions of years old! Which meant that he and his brother weren't in harad at all; they were in the future! Elrohir glanced at his brother and saw the same sentiments echoed in his brother's stunned face. Then, it seemed suddenly that the meeting was over. People were standing up, and leaving. Both brothers remained rooted to their chair until a young man approached them.

"Meetings over" said the young man. "We need to close up now, there is going to be a class here soon." He continued.

"It is incredible to believe that so much time has passed and yet men are still around." Mused Elrohir. Belatedly he realized that he had spoken aloud.

"Sure is" said the man with a grin. "The names' Owen. I was working with the Prof. When the book was discovered." He said.

Elrohir nodded. "Look, I'm doing research on my own. The language of the red book is incredible! If this is your sort of thing is part of your major, I'd be happy to go over it with you in more detail." Said Owen.

Elrohir wasn't sure what a "major" was but more information about Bilbo's book could be incredibly helpful. "I am called Elrohir, and this is my brother Elladan. We are both interested in different languages and cultures and would be fascinated to learn more about this discovery." Said Elrohir.

"Excellent!" said Owen. "You can usually find me in the library or in the common room of Off-campus 5. Hope to see you around then. " He continued.

Elrohir assured Owen that that the twin's would indeed seek him out soon, and after a few more pleasantries with the enthusiastic young man, parted ways leaving the twins alone again.

"What now?" questioned Elladan?

"Obviously we need to try and find a way back to our own time. Perhaps this Owen holds the key, perhaps not." Answered Elrohir.

"Or perhaps Becka the Witch might have a few answers. Now that we know more about our situation, we might be able to reason with her." Said Elladan

Elrohir nodded. It did make sense, after all when they HAD appeared in the Witches' home. Both brothers agreed that staying near the school would be beneficial and that studying the book as much as possible was crucial. Perhaps old Bilbo had left a clue to help them find there way home. The twin's found another "park" that was not far from the school. That evening, not even the stars were able to ease the twin's minds.


End file.
